Forming-machine.



PAT-ENTED MAY 21, 1907.

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PORMING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB 23 1906 PATBNTED MAY 21, 1907. l

G. H. PETRI. PORMING MACHINE.

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No. 854,308. PATENTED MAY 21, 1907.

G. H. PETRL PORMING MACHINE.

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UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

FORIVIING-NIACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 21, 1907.'.

Application iled February 23,1906. Serial No. 302.376.

To r//ZZ 1117s frm, t may con/cern,.-

Be itknown that I, GUNTHER II. PETRI, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bos' ton. in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in F orming-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates 4to machines for forming dough or other plastic material into balls.

The object of the invention is to improve the construction, reduce the expense of manufacture and reduce the labor or attendants required in operating machines for this purpose; also to provide a machine which is adjustable for making different sizes of balls, which is automatic in operation, and has the other improvements and advantages'of the invention hereinafter described.

The objects are accomplished by providing a rotating conical surface, upon which a suitable mass of dough rests, and in connection therewith a stationarytrough concave toward thc. conical surface and provided with a rib projecting from the concave part of the trough toward said cortical surface, said rib being adjustable with respectto the surface and also with respect to the-.lower edge of the trough. Automatic means is also provided for conveying masses of dough to said trough and conical surface, and for removing completed balls of dough fromethe discharge end.L of the trough without thecare of an attendant. A rim is also providedsurrounding the lower edge of the conical surface. 'This rim may be stationary and may operate in conjunction with the rotating table and in c011- junction with the admission end of theribbed trough, to assist in the rolling operation and to feed balls of dough into said ribbed trough automatically. The rim also protects at? tendants from contact with thetable and protects the contents of the table.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 shows one form of the invention Ain perspective. Fig. 2'is a sectional elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of adetail of Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of another' form of the invention. Fig.

5 is a sectional elevation of the same vviewed in the oppositevdirection-from' Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is e sectional elevation of anotherform. Fig. 7 i8 plan of the ferm shown in Fig. 6.

Keicrring to the drawings, and part larly to Figs. 1, 2. and 3:

planned that it Wil l is a table, having a conical surface, mounted rotatably upon a vertical axis and arranged to be driven by a driving wheel 3. The table may have striations 14, corrugations or be otherwise roughened a little if desired. Its lower edge is surrounded by a stationary inclined rim 2, inclined or curved toward the table andarranged to cast back upon the lower partof the conical surface any dough which shdes down the conical surface thereto. In conjunction with the lower part of the table this constitutes a trough, one part of Which trough is stationary and .the other part moving parallel thereto.

Another trough 4, which herein will be called the forming trough, is supported' stationarily over the surface of the rotating'table. The support may conveniently consist of a strap bolted to the xed rim 2, as shown in Fig. 1. The forniing trough is concave toward 'the table and has an entrance arch 5, both edges of which are closely adjacent to Vthe table, and a delivery end 6 -at which the upper edge 7 of .the trough more remote from the table, as clearly shown in' Fig. 1, the

recession of this upper edge occurring gradualiy from beginning tol end. A rib 8 is fixed longitudinally within the forming trough, in a ositio'n between the arch thereof and the ta le. This rib preferably extends only in the middle portion of the length of lthe trough. It also projects to a greater' dis- `'tancfe from the arch in the middle than near the'ends, its degree of projection being arranged to increase gradually from its point of beginning to the centerz and then to decrease gradually till it ceases.

The dough entering the forming trough at 5 is carried along by the table and is made to roll by friction against the trough and rib as it progresses in the trough. By arranging the trough with its-up )er edge gradually more .remote from the table (shown exaggerated in the drawing), the rib, which at first bears "upon the top of the mass of dough, gradually .comes to bear u on the side thereof as'the doiigh is formed lnto a ball and rolls onward, thus .giving a more accurately spherical shape. The completed ball of dough rolls out at the dischar e end 6, and -in Fig. 1 it isl 'Ibe removed by an attendant. If, however, the attendant fails to catch the ball, or if it is desired to maniputhe dough further, it Will roll down the e ofthe table. If a succession of balls IOO tro

should come out without being received by the attendant they would pile up, iill the rim and roll upon the floor, except for the feature of the invention by which each ball when it strikes the rim is thrown back into contact with the rotating table and is rolled along thereby so that it is out of the way when the next ball strikes. When carried far enough it encounters the opening 5 of the forming trough and goes through the process over again and is thus saved loss by falling upon the floor. Where extra manipulation is reuired this enables dough to pass through t e process repeatedly until it has attained the desired sha e and consistency, when it may be remove By this repeatmg feature a small and relativel inexpensive machine may do work for w 'ch a lar er machine would ordinarily be required. f desired, a section of the rim may be removed forming a gapin the rim where the balls would strike the rim on fallin from the dischar e of the trough, and a bas et, chute or mec anical conveyer 12 may be arranged to receive them. In this event the balls which do not strike the rim are not suhj ect to the repeated manipulation above described. By arranging theopenin only in the direct path of descent of a per ect ball from the dlscharge of the trough, the selection will be made automatically between balls that are perfectly formed and those that are not and hence require further forming; for only the former will reach the opening, and the latter, being delayed by their imperfect form in rolling down the table, will not reach the rim until the rotation of the table has carried 'them past the opening. These, therefore, will be thrown back upon the table and carried Vboth ex ensive and cumbersome.

throu h the formin(r trough again.

To orm balls of different sizes it has heretofore been thought necessary to provide troughs of different sizes, a separate one for each size ball desired. These are manufactured only at considerable cost, being difficult castin s to form; and to equip a machine-comp etely with a set of them has been One feature of t e invention overcomes both diiiculties by making the forming rib adjustable in position. For this purpose the rib is mounted adjustably within the trough and is composed of slightly flexible material. The general arrangement of the mountin is shown clearly in Fig. 2, and in larger detail is shown in Fig. 3.

The rib 8 carries a stud projecting through the trough, having a screw thread and a 'thumb nut 9 on the outside, which when tightened draws the rib away from the table and toward the trough; but the rib is normally held at a short distance from the trough by a spiral spring 10 strung upon the stud. The stud is adjustable with respect to the lower edge of the 'trough and may be fastened in any different position in the slot 11 by means of the thumb nut 9. A lock nut may conveniently be provided outside the thumb nut on the same stud, as shown, to hold it in lace when screwed to the proper tension, tlie degree of tension depending upon the degree which it is desired to draw the rib 8 toward the trough 4. This adjustment moves the rib away from the table toward the trough, and thereby compresses the springs 10. When the thumb nut is released a little the spring pushes the rib out a corres ending amount toward the surface of the ta le. Slight flexibility of the rib aids in making the precise degree of adjustment desired at each point of support. When a mass of dough enters the forming trough it at first rolls between the trough and the table in contact with each, but when it encounters the rib it rolls and is formed between the rib and table, and hence the size of the ball is de- 'act that the rib is not a complete inclosing surface like the trough gives greater freedom in forming the ball and enables it to bul e a little on the sides of the rib if the size of t e mass of dough so requires.

Another form of the invention is shown in Figs. 4 and 5, in which the forming trough is marked 4' and is set adjacent to a conical table, 1, having the peculiarity that it is the interior surface of an inverted cone. A trough 4 is set stationarily above the moving surface, as in the previously described form. Dough enters at the entrance 5 of the trough and is carried by the rotation of the cone and slope of the conical trough and by force of gravity, the weight of the dough assistin in the operation, down the trough, and is ,'scharged at 6 where it falls upon a moving belt 12, which carries each ball out from unde'r'the table. By operating upon the concave surface of the cone the dough is gripped more securely by the table.

e form of adjustment shown in Fig. 4 consists in adjusting the position of the entire forming trough upon a hinge about the entrance end 5. That end remains stationary and the delivery end 6 is raised vertically a suitable distance by adjustment of the screws 16, the trough turning upward as upon a hinge, about its stationary support at 17. By thus raising the forming trough all parts of it are caused to recede from the conical surface, in a direction substantially parallel to the axis of the cone, the extent of recession varying from its maximum at the end 6 to zero at thev entrance end 5'. This causes the rib to recede with the trough, and the space existing between the rib and the surface, in which a mass of dough can roll, is thus increased; while at the entrance end, in which the dough may be assumed to be in a more plastic state, and less cohesive, the confining eect of the 'trough 'is not lost betermined by the distance of the rib; while the IOO IIO

cause it remains almost as it was before adjustment. This method does away with the necessity for providing a set of substitute ribbed troughs for different sizes of balls. An adjustment which has greater operative limits, and which at the same time can be adjusted to a finer degree, may be attained by making the rib adjustable with respect to the trough, as previously described, in addition to making the trough adjustable. By raising the entire trough, including the hinge, capacity to handle larger masses of dough is attained.

Figs. G and 7 show another form, in which an internal conical surface is employed, in which the entrance of the trough is at its lower end and the dough is carriedupward. This figure also shows a rib adjustable within the trough and an adjustable trough, as here tofore described. A fixed rim 2 is provided at the bottom of the incline of the table, similar in function to the fixed rim 2 of Fig. l, and there is a conveyor belt 20 arranged to receive masses of dough and by passing over roller 19 located in the bottom opening of the cone to deposit them upon the rim 2', whence they fall against the rotating surface 1 of the table. By conjunction of this fixed and this rotatingysurface they are carried and incidentally somewhat rolled along until they' encounter the entrance 5 of the trough. Having entered, each mass is rolled upward on the incline against the -rib and formed into a ball and delivered upon an auxiliary delivery plate 6, whence it rolls on a removing belt 21 and is carried away to any desired place. By this mechanism the masses of dough may come directly from an adjacent machine (not shown in the drawings) for cutting masses of proper size, as, for instance, by falling down a chute indicated at 18, and will then be caught by the belt 20,I

put through the machine, and come out as balls upon the belt 21, which belt being nearly level and having, if desired, a roughcned surface, will carry them to a point whence they can roll down a chute into another room or any other desired position for the next operation, thus making the entire operation of this machine automatic. By making the rollers 22, over which the belt 21 passes, slightly concave a trough-like shape is given to that belt, which prevents any ball from rolling off of the side of the belt. The belts 2O and 21 may conveniently be driven by sprocket chains 23 and 24 respectively, which mesh with s )rocket wheels on the main driving shaft o the machine, the rotating table itself being driven by a gear 25 upon the same shaft.

I claim:

1. A forming machine for plastic material, comprising a carrier having a concave surface, a trough concave toward. said surface, the

radii of curvature of the said two concave surfaces being diverse; and means to produce relative motion between them in a direction crossing the trough.

2. A forming machine for plastic material, comprising a table having a concave conical surface; a trough adjacent thereto, concave toward said surface; and means to produce relative motion between the two in a direction crossing the trough.

3. A forming machine for plastic material, comprising a table; a trough concave toward the table; means for producing relative motion between them; and a rib adjustable with relation to the surface of the table, set longitudinally in the concave portion of the trough.

4. A forming machine for plastic material, comprising a table; a trough, concave toward the table; means for producing relative motion between them; and a rib set longitudinally in the trough, projecting toward the table and adjustable in position with respect to the trough.

5. A forming machine for plastic material, comprising a table; a trough, concave toward the table; means for producing relative motion between them; and a flexible rib set longitudinally in the trough, projecting toward the table and adjustable in position with respect to the trough.

G. A forming machine for plastic material, comprising a conical table; a trough, concave toward the table; means for producing relative motion between them; said trough being supported at one end by a hinge set perpendicular to the axis of the table and having supports elsewhere adjustable in positionpae allel tothe axis and hinged parallel thereto, whereby its angle, with relation to the axis of the table, may be adjusted.

7 A forming machine for plastic material, comprising a conical table; a trough, concave toward the table; means for producing relative motion between them; and means to withdraw the trough from the table in the direction of the axis of the table to a position parallel with its iirst position, comprising supports mounted on screws having axes parallel to the axis of the table.

S. A forming machine for plastic material, comprising a rotatable conical table; a rim at the lower edge thereof; and a forming trough, concave toward the table, the entrance of the trough being adjacent to the rim.

Q. A forming machine for plastic material, comprising a rotatable conical table; a stationary rim at the lower edge of the table, inclined toward the table; and a forming trough, concave toward the table.

10. A forming machine for plastic material, comprising a rotatable conical table; a stationary rim at the lower edge of the table, inclined toward the table; and a forming IIO trough, concave toward the'table; there being a gap in the riln for passage of formed masses delivered by gravity from the trough.

l1. A forming machine for plastic material7 comprising a rotatable conical table; a stationary rim at the lower edge of the table, inclined toward the table; and a forming trough, concave toward the table; there being a gap in the rim for passage of balls delivered from the trough, said gap being located only in the path of perfectly formed balls, whereby the rim will intercept imperfectly formed balls.

12, A forming machine for plastic material, comprising a rotatable conical table, having its concave surface upward and apex removed; a forming trough, concave toward the surface, running spirally between the apex and base portions of the table and a conveyer connecting the apex portion with the exterior of the machine.

13. A forming machine 'for plastic material, comprising a rotating conical table having its concave surface upward and apex removed; a belt conveyer, conveying material to the apex portion ofthe table a rim adjacent thereto g a forming trough, starting near the rim and leading spirally upward on the conical surface; and a mechanical conveyor arranged. to receive the delivery from the trough and convey the 'same to the exterior of the machine. Y

14. A forming machine for plastic material, comprising a rotating conical table; a trough concave toward the surface thereof', having an entrance end near the apex and a discharge end near the periphery of the ta ble; means to produce relative motion between the trough and table; the whole being formed and arranged for passage of the material in a centrifugal direction@ In testimony whereof I afiix my signature, in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GNTHER H. PETRI.

Witnesses:

ELLIOTT B. CHURCH, EVERETT E. KENT. 

